03-25-2015, 06:48 AM
(03-24-2015, 02:35 PM)xNE0x_imp Wrote: Few things I would like to pick apart from his review:LOL. A good-natured rant, got to love it!
"It's almost hard to imagine that between your legs breaths a 1142cc air cooled inline 4 cylinder engine. Many will say that this bike is underpowered and too heavy, and it is but that’s not why you’re buying this bike. Even if you wanted more power, there are a number of modifications you could potentially make to give it a bit more zest."
Yet another jab at horsepower. Why is everything about horsepower? Where is the claim this bike had jaw dropping performance? I never saw such claim, but I did read the article written by the designers of this bike before I bought it. They nailed it in my book.
"The power comes on so smooth and even, it almost feels like an electric motorcycle."
An electric motorcycle has more torque vs horsepower. I guess I would like to know what CC electric motorcycle he's ridden, and comparing it to.
"While cruising along the highway, there were a couple of times where I was in 6th gear between 70-80mph and I found myself needing to drop down a gear or two to find the power to overtake another vehicle."
The older CB's did not have any accelerator pumps, or modern carb technology. This dump and thump he's explaining is nothing when you've ridden it's older brothers. You would need to always get the rev's up, dump a gear, then power shift up to get the "thrill". Sounds like he's wanting a sport bike's "twist of the wrist" experience, and didn't get it.
"Due to the displacement and compression of this engine, the CB1100 DLX produces some rather noticeable engine braking when downshifting and closing the throttle."
Again, ride it's older counterpart. This is perfectly normal, and should not be a surprise to him. The older inline fours had a 9.0 x 1 compression ratio, which is not much different than the 9.7 x 1 ratio of the cb1100. This difference should be hardly noticeable if at all. My CB750K is running 10x1, and I can't tell the difference between them. I think this drag or engine braking he's complaining about, is because he is use to a bike like the NC700X with coated pistons. When you try to use engine braking on an NC700X, you will notice there is hardly any
"I would even go so far as to say the Honda CB1100 is the perfect big bike for beginners or larger/taller individuals and for those seeking a beautiful cafe-styled bike with more power and performance than a Triumph Bonneville or Thruxton—all while remaining cheaper than the Moto Guzzi 8V SE and BMW R-Nine T."
My sales rep told me that most salesman will say that about any bike to get a quick sell, offering confidence to the buyer and presenting the bike as less intimidating. When the word "beginners bike" gets thrown around like this, my first thought runs to a greenhorn setting his duff for the first time on a motorcycle. And that, is where I disagree with these types of statements. The fact is, the CB1100 is a 570 lb bike with 87 hp. It is by no mean's, a beginners bike. Any motorcycle safety instructor will tell you, start small.
Other than that, the review was positive
Sorry for the rant!
Well, I don't think anyone has ever said that this bike had "jaw-dropping horsepower", but there IS an understandable expectation of a lot more horsepower than that from a modern 1100+cc mill. I mean, fer cryin' out loud, my '83 Suzuki GS1100e had something like 108hp, and that was over 30 years ago! When you think about how power has increased across the board with every style bike, engine layout and engine size, this is a bit of an oddity. Is it enough? Probably. And Lord knows, they no doubt over-engineered this sucker so much, it'll probably last forever, but I'll still confess to wishing for about 20-25 more hp myself, and I'm in my mid-fifties, and ride like an old lady most of the time!
I definitely have to agree with you about it not being a beginner's bike, though. It's too big, too heavy, and in my opinion, carries too much of its weight up too high; as you mentioned, these are all the antithesis of what would normally be considered beginner bike traits. There are way too many better-suited rides out there, especially these days.